Tuesday, April 26, 2011

China, oil bans and gas hikes, oh my!

The International Monetary Fund dropped a bombshell that most didn’t initially notice (unless you listen to talk radio, of course): China’s economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016! Market Watch says, “For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.” Not only does this put into context the dire decisions that Washington needs to make towards real, sustainable debt reduction, but this also “casts a deepening cloud over both the U.S. dollar and the giant Treasury market…”

Don’t like the idea of a weak dollar? Tough, get used to it! That’s what a CNBC report tells us: “Weakness in the US dollar, which is causing everything to go up—including gas prices, food and stocks—is unlikely to go away soon as a selling frenzy hits the currency market.” This is something that Steve Wynn warned us about last week. The piece goes on to identify the ‘combination of factors’ that account for the weakened state of the dollar: “the Federal Reserve's easy-money policies, huge national debts and deficits and the consequential possibility of a debt downgrade because of the financial mess in Washington leading the way.” A.K.A. “the Obama Administration”…these are the same ‘geniuses’ that declare we must unequivocally raise the debt ceiling, so justification can be allotted for more wasteful spending! This is simply wrongheaded. If my family makes plans for a trip (“passes legislation”), then finds out we don’t have the money for it (“out of budget”), plus on top of that, we have an unexpectedly huge electric bill one month (“debt/deficit”), then guess what? We’re not taking that trip until we’ve taken care of the necessities (“implementation halted, defunding nonessentials, debt reduction enacted, Treasury replenished)! See how out of touch Washington Fantasy Island is?!

Another blow to our economy comes in the form of the EPA’s constant attack on energy. As Levin always accurately states, “The Greens are the new Reds.”Fox News reports, “EPA rules force Shell to abandon oil drilling plans in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska.” After Shell has spent five years, nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil, with leases alone costing $2.2 billion, the EPA pulls the rug out from under them. “The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.” Umm, ya think?! Funny how we can't drill, yet the Obama administration is fine with, and even funding in some cases, other countries drilling all around us!

Let’s not be too hasty in blaming a weak dollar alone in raising gas prices, though. Hmmm, wonder what else could be causing the gas prices to suddenly skyrocket? Oh, I don’t know, perhaps the oil ban that the administration has imposed on the industry for the past year?! Yet while gas prices are topping $1-a-gallon higher than one year ago, the mainstream media maintain, “It’s not Obama’s fault!” The Media Research Center reports, “The Business & Media Institute found that out of the 280 oil price stories the network evening shows have aired since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, only 1 percent (3 stories) mentioned Obama's drilling ban or other anti-oil actions in connection with gasoline prices.” Only 1% of evening news stories have mustered the cahones to link the rising prices to Obama’s drilling ban. Wow, how ‘bout that cutting-edge journalism?!

And the lib media definitely tried to bury this headline: “Obama’s Energy Sec. wants $7 to $9 Unleaded gas prices “Red State reports, "...Energy Sec. Chu suggested unleaded prices would solve our energy problems forcing people to buy alternative energy cars and sub compacts.” These guys have a bizarre approach towards energy efficiency for the sake of ‘the people’, don’t they? BTW, where are all those 'alternatives' to make up for the lack of real fuel sources? And I don’t recall the state-sanctioned environmental religion being part of the Constitution, do you? Where are all the ‘separation of church and state’ activist on this one? Oh yeah, they’re among the eco-religious ones pushing all this crap! So many questions...

Meanwhile, while the electric car drivers may be dodging the pain at the pump, “there's one expense they may not be able to shake: paying to maintain the roads.” Yep, Big Government may not be able to get you at the pump, but they’ll get you one way or another, come sticker price or ‘fee’. AP reports, “After years of urging residents to buy fuel-efficient cars and giving them tax breaks to do it, Washington state lawmakers are considering a measure to charge them a $100 annual fee — what would be the nation's first electric car fee.” Many other states are looking towards ‘fee’ routes as well.

And rounding out the dismantlement, as if our light bulbs and toilets weren’t enough, the Washington Times reports that now “ice makers are the latest target in the left’s ongoing war against the conveniences of modern life.”

Why are we allowing this, America?

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We did't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free” ~ Ronald Reagan